Dereka Bennett
My name is Dereka K. Bennett. I’m a freelance journalist from Michigan. I’m also a second year student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
Back in the Midwest, I spent most of my time interning at news stations such as ESPN3, ABC News- WJRT and NBC affiliate Local 4 News; while completing my Bachelors degree. I gained on-camera experience, and skills in video production, research, social media management and marketing.
Now that the Bay Area is my new home, I work as a part-time content producer for NBC Bay Area News- KNTV. I help write scripts, edit videos, and help track the Olympic trials and games.
At Berkeley, I’m working to advance my production background, photography and investigative skills. Since being here, I’ve found a new love and appreciation for documentaries and explainer videos. My goal is now to become an independent documentary filmmaker.
As a journalist at the J-School, I’ve produced short documentaries about cosmetic surgery, the Texas power outages, and endangered & disabled animals. My work can be found on my Instagram (business) page here: DK Produxion.
So far I’ve only been published once in Cal Matters. I collaborated on an investigative story involving the extremist group 1776 Patriots and the BLM movement in Bakersfield, California. Currently, I am working on more upcoming stories through the J-School’s Investigative Reporting Program.
EDUCATION
University of Michigan -- B.A. in Screen Studies and Journalism with High Distinction
EMPLOYERS
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NBC Bay Area News Assistant Content Producer ( June 2021- Present)
MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc -- Xi Phi Chapter
REPORTING INTERESTS
Investigative reporting, Visual Investigations and Documentary Filmmaking, multimedia, photography